I’m usually talking about the newer polymer blends when I say they recover better after hail. Some of the fiberglass-based stuff holds up, but those high-end synthetics really do seem to “bounce” back—at least in the installs I’ve seen. The cheaper composites are a mixed bag though, you’re right, they’ll pit or even crack if the hail’s bad enough.
On the recycled options, I’ve only seen a couple roofs that were maybe 12-15 years old, and they looked decent but definitely faded more than traditional asphalt. No major cracking or curling though. I’m still waiting to see how they hold up past the 20-year mark... UV is a wild card for sure, especially down south.
No major cracking or curling though. I’m still waiting to see how they hold up past the 20-year mark... UV is a wild card for sure, especially down south.
You’re not wrong about UV being a wildcard. Down here in Texas, I’ve seen some of those recycled composites fade way faster than asphalt, but they aren’t curling or splitting much either. The “bounce back” on high-end synthetics is real though—had a hailstorm last spring and my neighbor’s DaVinci roof looked untouched, while my old fiberglass shingles took a beating. Still, I wonder if that color fade will bug folks long-term or if it’s just cosmetic. Anyone else seeing the same?
Color fade’s definitely more than just cosmetic for some folks—especially if you paid extra for a certain look. But I’ve actually seen some older asphalt roofs get that patchy, streaky appearance from algae and granule loss, which can look worse over time. Composites might fade, but at least they seem to keep their shape and don’t shed bits everywhere after a big storm. I’d take a little fading over leaks or missing shingles, personally... but I get why it bugs people.
Gotta say, I’m not sure I’d trade color fade for durability every time. Here’s the thing:
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“Composites might fade, but at least they seem to keep their shape and don’t shed bits everywhere after a big storm.”
- My neighbor did composite about 8 years back—looked great at first. Now it’s faded in weird patches AND has a few warped spots from heat (we get some brutal summers). Not leaking yet, but it doesn’t look much better than my old three-tabs.
- The algae streaks on asphalt bug me too, but I found a spray cleaner that helps a bit. Plus, replacing a few asphalt shingles is way easier (and cheaper) than tracking down matching composites if you ever need to patch.
- Granule loss is annoying, but I’ve had more trouble with composite edges curling up after hail.
Guess it depends on what bugs you most—ugly streaks or unpredictable fading. For me, as long as it’s not leaking and I can fix it myself without breaking the bank, I’ll stick with asphalt for now.
Guess it depends on what bugs you most—ugly streaks or unpredictable fading.
That’s honestly where I landed too. When I bought my place last year, the roof was just past halfway through its life—standard asphalt, nothing fancy. I started researching composite because I figured “set it and forget it,” but the color fade thing kept coming up. The idea of patchy, sun-bleached spots right above my front porch just bugs me.
I’ve had to swap out a couple of asphalt shingles after a windstorm, and it was pretty straightforward. Matching colors wasn’t perfect (old vs new), but at least replacements are easy to find at any hardware store. With composites, I’d worry about getting left with some discontinued batch and a weird patch.
The heat warping you mentioned is what really gives me pause. We get 100+ days here too, so if composites aren’t holding up any better than asphalt in that respect... doesn’t seem worth the higher cost.
Algae streaks are annoying, but like you said, cleaning sprays help. For now, I’ll probably ride out the rest of this roof and see if anything changes by the time I need a full replacement.
